NBA PLAYOFFS: WESTERN CONFERENCE PREVIEW

The Western Conference is Wide Open and the playoffs will be epic theater. The Golden State Warriors won the West and the entire NBA for that matter last season. I personally believe every team in the field has questions and there are 7 teams that could win the West if they get hot. The Nuggets have a nice roster to support Nikola Jokic, but can they put it all together to make a deep run? Memphis has Ja Morant, but deep down I’m not a believer in this squad. It is amazing to see the Kings returning to the playoffs after such a long drought. It now leaves the New York Jets with the longest playoff drought in American professional sports. The most dangerous team in the West resides in Arizona. If Booker, Paul and Durant can stay healthy, this team can make a run. The other team in LA is led by Kawhi Leonard, but they won’t go far if Paul George doesn’t return soon. As of this article, there isn’t a known timeline for his return to the court. The Warriors have had a bumpy 2022/23 season, but they could turn it on once the playoffs tip off. The Lakers are Lebron, Anthony Davis and a ton of young role players. They had a slow start, but have played better over the last month, can LeBron and The Brow energize them for a run? The Pelicans are in trouble with Zion being ruled out for the Play In Round. The Timberwolves and Thunder have youth, but which team can harness it and play winning basketball when it counts?

As of April 9th:

PLAY IN ROUND:

• 8 SEED MINNESOTA TIMBERWOLVES AT 7 SEED LA LAKERS. TUESDAY. 10PM EST. TNT
• 10 SEED OKC THUNDER AT 9 SEED NEW ORLEANS PELICANS. WEDNESDAY 9:30PM EST. ESPN

I’m taking LeBron and the Lakers to beat Minnesota and capture the 7 Seed. The Pelicans don’t have Zion, but I think they survive the Thunder. The Timberwolves will recover from fighting themselves (Rudy Goebert punched a teammate in the regular season finale), walls and Lakers to defeat the Pelicans and clinch the 8 Seed.

FIRST ROUND:

8 SEED MINNESOTA TIMBERWOLVES VS 1 SEED DENVER NUGGETS:

• TIMBERWOLVES AND NUGGETS SPLIT THEIR 4 GAMES DURING THE REGULAR SEASON
• CAN THE TIMBERWOLVES GROW UP AND PLAY PLAYOFF BASKETBALL ?
• ARE THE NUGGETS FOR REAL THIS YEAR?
• PREDICTION: NUGGETS IN 5 GAMES

7 SEED LA LAKERS VS 2 SEED MEMPHIS GRIZZLIES:

• ARE JA MORANT AND THE GRIZZLIES MATURE ENOUGH TO WIN WHEN IT MATTERS?
• CAN LEBRON RALLY THE LAKERS TO WIN A SERIES?
• THE LAKERS TOOK 2 OF THE 3 GAMES FROM THE GRIZZLIES THIS SEASON
• THE LAKERS WILL NEED REAVES AND SCHRODER TO BE LOCKED IN ALL SERIES
• DESMOND BANE WILL NEED TO BE FOCUSED TO PROVIDE A RELIABLE #2 FOR MORANT.
• DILLON BROOKS MIGHT BE CALLED ON TO DEFEND LEBRON IF MORANT IS IN FOUL TROUBLE, A VERY TALL TASK.
• LAKERS LACK BENCH DEPTH
• PREDICTION: GRIZZLIES IN 6 GAMES

6 SEED GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS VS 3 SEED SACRAMENTO KINGS:

• THE VETERAN DEFENDING CHAMPIONS AGAINST THE UPSTART AND YOUTHFUL IN STATE RIVALS
• THE WARRIORS TOOK 3 OF 4 DURING THE REGULAR SEASON
• FOX, SABONIS, BARNES AND MONK WILL NEED TO BE ELITE
• WHAT IS THE HEALTH & MINDSET OF THE WARRIORS?
• PREDICTION: WARRIORS IN 6 GAMES

5 SEED LA CLIPPERS VS 4 SEED PHOENIX SUNS:

• UNKNOWN TIMELINE FOR PAUL GEORGE TO RETURN FOR THE CLIPPERS
• CLIPPERS TOOK 2 OF 3 IN THE REGULAR SEASON WITH 1 WIN IN THE SEASON FINALE, WHERE BOOKER, DURANT AND PAUL DIDN’T PLAY
• CAN RUSSELL WESTBROOK AND ERIC GORDON PROVIDE ENOUGH SUPPORT ?
• CAN THE SUNS RECAPTURE THE PLAYOFF MAGIC FROM 2021?
• PREDICTION: SUNS IN 6 GAMES

SECOND ROUND:

4 SEED PHOENIX SUNS VS 1 SEED DENVER NUGGETS:

• THE SUNS HAVE A STAR STUDDED TRIO
• SEASON SERIES SPLIT AT 2 GAMES A PIECE WITH THE SUNS WINNING THE LAST 2
• WILL JAMAL MURRAY, MICHAEL PORTER JR AND AARON GORDON SHOW UP
• JOKIC LED THE TEAM IN POINTS PER GAME, REBOUNDS PER GAME AND ASSISTS PER GAME
• KEVIN DURANT STILL SEARCHING TO WIN OUTSIDE OF GOLDEN STATE
• PREDICTION: SUNS IN 7 GAMES

6 SEED GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS VS 2 SEED MEMPHIS GRIZZLIES:

• JA VS THE WARRIORS
• CAN THE WARRIORS STAY FOCUSED AND NOT LOOK PAST THE GRIZZLIES?
• THE GRIZZLIES NEED THE FULL ROSTER TO PLAY ELITE
• I FEEL CURRY WANTS TO SHOW THE WORLD THE WARRIORS ARE STILL THE CHAMPS
• PREDICTION: WARRIORS IN 6 GAMES

WESTERN CONFERENCE FINALS:

6 SEED GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS VS 4 SEED PHOENIX SUNS:

• THIS IS THE WESTERN CONFERENCE FINALS WE DESERVE
• WHICH COLLECTION OF STARS CAN SHINE LONG ENOUGH
• I BELIEVE KEVIN DURANT AND DEVIN BOOKER WILL BE LOCKED IN
• PREDICTION: SUNS IN 7 GAMES

Buckle up for an 2021 NBA Finals rematch between Suns and Bucks. This time Jae Crowder is a Buck and Kevin Durant is a Sun. Adding intrigue to the matchup is Kevin Durant trying to get revenge for the Nets series loss to the Bucks. Game 7 was decided by Durant’s shoe being on the line when he thought he hit a 3, but it was a 2. The drama writes itself and it should be exciting 7 games.